We love celebrating the arrival of a new year together as a family. This year I thought it’d be fun to make something the kids could use to countdown each hour until midnight (if they manage to stay up that long!).

These countdown clocks are made from paper plates and have movable hands so kids can move them at each hour. (And they can even be used later on for practice telling time.) They can be decorated as simply or as elaborately as you want. I’ll show you a few examples below, but there’s pretty much endless possibilities as far as decorating them. (This post contains affiliate links.)

3. Punch a hole in each clock hand. Poke a hole in the center of your plate. Attach the clock hands to your clock with a brad.

4. Decorate your clock! Here’s a few options:

Spread glue around the edge of your plate, and cover it with glitter. Shake off the excess glitter to make a glittery clock.

Glue some large sequins around the edge of your plate. We used some star sequins.

Punch holes around the edge of your plate. Twist some pipe cleaners through the holes. (You can make them spiral by wrapping them around a pencil.)

Other ideas for decorating your clock:

Add stickers and/or foam stickers around the edge.

Paint your clock.

Use crayons or markers to decorate the edges.

5. (Optional) To help Theo understand when the new year would arrive, I attached a glittery ‘2015’ to the top of the clock with a popsicle stick and some glue. Now he can visually see the when the new year will start- when both clock hands point up to the ‘2015’!

Now your children are ready to count down to the new year! At each hour help your child move the clock hands one hour closer to midnight!

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Welcome to Buggy and Buddy! I'm Chelsey, a former teacher and parent living on the central coast of California. I love sharing crafts, science, STEM and STEAM activities, free printables and more! Read More…